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Academic Integrity 4.407

I. Statement on Academic Integrity

Elgin Community College is committed to providing a learning environment that values truth, honesty, and justice. Academic integrity means being honest and responsible regarding any work submitted as one’s own while in a college course. Failing to do so is considered academic dishonesty. Acts of academic dishonesty include cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, complicity, submitting same work in multiple courses, and/or misconduct in research. The purpose of academic assignments is to help students learn. The grade received shows students’ own understanding and effort. It also indicates how well they have met the learning goals in a course. In order to demonstrate that learning, the work done must always be their own and if students consult others’ work, this must be properly cited. Students who commit any act of academic dishonesty will be subject to sanctions imposed by their instructor, up to and including failure in the course. For more information on ECC’s Academic Integrity policy see www.elgin.edu/academicintegrity.

For information on how to avoid academic integrity violations, see the Plagiarism Modules available from the main menu on your D2L homepage (under the Student Support tab) or visit the ECC Library Tutorials Research Guide at http://ecclibrary.elgin.edu/tutorials/WritingYourPaper. Students may also seek assistance from Librarians as well as the Write Place staff.

II. Acts of Academic Dishonesty include, but are not limited to the following:

Cheating: At its most basic level, cheating is the unauthorized use of outside assistance. Cheating includes use of notes, study aids, or other devices that are expressly forbidden by the instructor for the completion of an assignment or an examination. In addition, cheating occurs when a student copies another individual's work or ideas.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s written words or ideas as one’s own. Students are guilty of plagiarism if they submit as their own work:

the sequence of ideas, arrangement of material, pattern of thought of someone else, even though it is expressed in the student’s own words; plagiarism occurs when such a sequence of ideas is transferred from a source to their work without the processes of digestion, integration, and reorganization in the writer’s mind, and without acknowledgement in their work.

part or all of a written assignment copied or paraphrased from another person’s work without proper documentation; paraphrasing ideas without giving credit to the original author is also plagiarism.

reusing or modifying a previously submitted work for a present assignment without obtaining prior permission from the instructors involved.

Fabrication: Fabrication is the invention or counterfeiting of data and/or research.

Complicity: Complicity occurs when a student provides assistance in any act that violates the integrity policy. Students are guilty of being accomplices to academic dishonesty if they:

allow their work to be copied and submitted as the work of another

prepare work for another student and allow it to be submitted as that student’s own work

keep or contribute materials with the clear intent that they will be copied or submitted as work of anyone other than the author

purchase work from another source

fail to report acts of plagiarism to their instructor; students who know their work is being copied are presumed to consent to its being copied

Multiple Submissions: Multiple submission occurs when a student submits the same (or largely unaltered) work in multiple courses without instructor approval. Multiple submission does not include coursework in linked courses (in which instructors develop assignments together), nor shall it cover those situations in which a student has received approval to expand or develop previous work.

Misconduct in Research: Misconduct in research occurs when a student violates professional guidelines or standards in research, including college standards and the Student Code of Conduct.

III. Instructor Initiated Sanctions

If an instructor identifies an act of academic dishonesty, the instructor shall determine the appropriate sanction(s) for the particular offense. If the instructor chooses one of the sanctions listed below, they must document the violation using the Academic Integrity Violation form. The form must be sent to the student via the ECC student email account, the Academic Dean, and the Dean of Student Services and Development. This enables the Dean of Students to monitor multiple offenses.

Completion of “Writing with Integrity” course through the Write Place

Reduced grade on assignment

Failing the assignment

Reduced final course grade

Failing grade for course

Instructors have the discretion to use the offense as a “teachable moment,” which may include a verbal warning or re-doing an assignment when responding to issues related to missed or partial citations, incorrect formatting, etc. In these instances, the instructor does not need to submit the Academic Integrity Violation form.

Students are informed of their right to appeal the violation through the information contained in the Academic Integrity Violation form. The student must appeal within ten (10) days of receiving the violation form from their instructor. While an appeal is in progress, the student must be allowed to continue actively participating in the class as long as the student is in compliance with the College’s Student Code of Conduct Administrative Procedure 4.402.

All students who receive the Academic Integrity Violation form will be required to meet with the Director of Student Success & Judicial Affairs. The student will be notified by mail and email to attend the meeting. The meeting may or may not impose further sanctions at the discretion of the Director. Students will remain restricted from registration until they have met all sanctions. If a student does not attend the meeting with the Director, the case will be immediately referred to the Student Disciplinary Committee for a hearing to determine further sanctions.

A documented subsequent violation of the Academic Integrity procedure recorded with the Dean of Student Services & Development shall result in administrative sanctions as outlined in the Administrative Procedure 4.402 (Student Code of Conduct), which may include but is not limited to:

Disciplinary warning or probation

Participation in non-credit “Writing with Integrity” course

Suspension

Expulsion

IV. Appeal Process

A student charged with an act of academic dishonesty may appeal the violation charge, but not the sanction. If the appeal is approved, the sanction would change accordingly. Students should continue active participation in the course while appeals are under review. The steps outlined below shall be followed. All dates will extend from the date of the email the student receives from their instructor with the violation form. If an extension is required, it may be granted by the Vice President.

Step 1: Division Review

The purpose of step 1 is to allow for independent review of the student’s appeal:.

To formally appeal the Academic Integrity charge, the student must submit a written statement with documentation (e.g. relevant syllabus sections, drafts, emails, research notations, etc.) to the appropriate Academic Dean for review within ten (10) days of receiving the Academic Violation form from their faculty member.

Within five (5) days of receiving the appeal, the Dean will review the documentation and confer with the faculty member, if available, and student to determine if the appeal has merit.

If the Dean determines the appeal has merit, they will work with the faculty member, if available, and the student in an effort to resolve the problem in a manner that is agreeable to both the faculty member and student. If such a solution is determined, the Dean and faculty member, if available, will work together to implement the change in sanction.

If the Dean denies the appeal, the student will be notified of the decision and rationale via ECC email. The faculty member will be copied on this email.

If either the student or faculty member are dissatisfied with the Dean’s decision, they may submit an appeal via ECC email to the Vice President of Teaching, Learning and Student Development within five (5) days of the notification. The appeal must include all necessary documentation.

Step 2: Vice President/Committee Review

The purpose of this step is to provide due process for students and faculty:

Within five (5) days the Vice President will review the violation, documentation, Dean’s recommendation, and the written appeal sent in by the faculty or student in reference to the Dean’s decision. The Vice President will use a rubric to determine if the appeal has merit.

If the appeal is denied by the Vice President, the student, instructor, and Dean shall be notified within five (5) days and the matter shall be at an end.

If the Vice President determines that the appeal has merit, within five (5) days of receiving that written appeal, the Vice President will notify Elgin Community College Faculty Association (ECCFA) of the need to appoint and convene an Academic Integrity Appeal Advisory Committee. The Vice President, in consultation with ECCFA, is responsible for ensuring that those designated to serve are not directly involved with the concern nor have any other conflict of interest. The committee will be comprised of the president of the student government or that person’s designee and three faculty members from three different academic disciplines, including one from the course discipline or closely related field and two from outside of the course discipline.

ECCFA will consult with the Vice President and will select these members within ten (10) days of receipt of the request. If for any reason ECCFA is unable to do so, the Vice President will appoint the committee members by the end of the ten (10) days. The faculty members will elect the chair of the committee.

The committee will hold formal hearing(s) at which the student and the faculty member may provide documentation. The student must be advised of his or her right to be accompanied by an advisor (who may be an attorney, but may not participate in the hearings except as an advisor to the student). The faculty member may also bring an advisor (who may be an attorney, but may not participate in the hearings except as an advisor to the faculty member). All committee hearings shall be confidential.

The committee shall review the evidence and make a written recommendation to the Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Student Development within three (3) days of the last hearing. The Vice President may accept or modify the Academic Integrity Appeal Advisory Committee’s recommendations and may determine additional sanctions or responses, as necessary. The Vice President will notify the faculty member, the student, the appropriate Academic Dean, and the chair of the Academic Integrity Appeal Advisory Committee of his or her decision within five (5) days of receiving the Committee’s recommendation.

If the Academic Integrity Appeal is upheld, the faculty member, if available, can be given the opportunity by the Vice President to change the student’s grade. If the appeal has been upheld and the faculty member refuses to change the grade, the Vice President of Teaching, Learning, and Student Development will change the grade administratively. If needed, the final course grade may also need to be recalculated based on the course syllabus.